Oregon’s New Bike Tax; Quick Comments on Chain Lube

Oregon has implemented a first-of-its-kind tax on sales of new bikes in the state.

The new tax, which took effect January 1, applies to any new bike with 26-inch and larger wheels that sells for at least $200. The tax is a straight $15 surcharge to each bike that meets the criteria.

The framers of the tax expect it to raise $1.2 million in the first year. Proceeds after the cost of implementation are to go to sprucing up cycling infrastructure in the state, which has no regular sales tax.

While not quite a hate-hate relationship with the new tax, BRAIN found only lukewarm approval from retailers in its recent reporting on the new tax.

In addition to some bike sellers having issues with their payment systems regarding collecting the tax (again, there’s no sales tax in the state, so they’re not used to such collections), some retailers report having to spend serious time explaining to buyers why they simply can’t afford to waive the new tax by reducing the purchase price by that amount.

Click the link above to read BRAIN’s report.

Quick Comments on Chain Lube

Among the many comments, from a wide spectrum of readers, some of whom use and like Chain-L, some who’ve used it and didn’t like it, and some who are absolutely sold on another lube of choice – in addition to their own method of applying, and reapplying, their lube – one comment stood out to me. It was from Doug Kirk, and it goes a long way toward explaining the passion we all seem to have for our preferred chain lube and application process.

“Lubes are like saddles; we seem to have personal preferences and it’s hard to convince others that ours is the right one. E.g., I still use Pro Link and have stopped taking the chain off the bike. I fill a chain cleaner tool with Pro Link and run it through like I was cleaning it. Well, I am, and the lube soaks in each link because the link is submersed in the lube.”

To which I replied:

“You’re absolutely right! It seems that, perhaps more than most products, chain lube is one that, when you find what works for you, you tend to stick to it like glue!”

And, you know what, that’s exactly how it should be. If you think about it, there are a LOT of bike products and apparel, from helmets to shoes to shorts to drivetrains that you may absolutely love – but that inevitably get “upgraded,” redesigned, dropped, sold out, what have you. You’re forced to try other models, or other brands, just to keep rolling.

But lubes are different. Their makers may (or may not) tweak the formula over time. But as long as the lube sells, it’s going to remain available in much the same form for years on end.

So, by all means, find one that works for you. And find a lubing process that works for you. And run with it!

P.S. Just for kicks, I decided to base today’s Question of the Week on this topic. Vote on how long you’ve used your current chain lube.—J.M.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

I read the article in BRAIN that the link above goes to. As I stated last year on RBR about this bike tax, customers who really balk at paying this will start looking online or out of state for a bike. As some larger bike shops in Oregon are doing per the article is that they are eating the tax, i.e., they are not charging their customers extra for it. Probably this will be the practice in Oregon.

Some smaller shop owners interviewed made clear that eating the tax was not an option for them, however. The average sales price for a bike is low enough that that $15 would eat away at their margin — especially on the lower end bikes. It surely puts them in a bind.

The real question in my mind is: “How long will it stay at only $15 and remain dedicated to cycling infrastructure?” When politicians get their grubby little fingers on a new “cash cow”, they’re sure to try to milk it for all it’s worth and divert the proceeds into the general fund where they can waste it as they see fit. Once a vulnerable population has been identified (cyclists) it will surely be exploited. This seems like a classic “slippery slope” situation.

This tax is criminal and hopefully Oregonians are fighting it with everything they’ve got. We all pay taxes for our roads already in many different ways. There are about a billion more cars on the roads than bicycles – so this will raise pocket change at best. What’s next? Taxes on shoes so pedestrians have to pay their way a second time, too?

Ah! Death and taxes! These are inevitable realities for mankind and societies, are they not? As a bicyclist for over 50 years and running I have seen the fervent efforts of local bicycle coalitions and lobbyists push civic entities for more considerations. Sadly, the more one wants the more one gets, usually in the form of a bill or a tax.

If this tax will stop some of the moaning and groaning about cyclists not paying for infrastructure, roads, or whatever – it’ll be a small price to pay.
These people are wrong in the first place and I’m 100% sure the vast majority of them will still be anti-cycling no matter what the tax might be.

But in the same article, one owner explains to his customers that he cannot let $15 off the price of a bike, but then advertises a coupon in a local paper for indeed $15 off a bike!?! And how much did that ad cost him?? Not very logical in my eye.

The problem with any tax is that the government will “steal” some of the tax for purposes not originally attended by changing the law, or add an admendment. For example the gasoline tax was designed for building new roads and for maintaining those roads, sometime later they took 11 to 15 percent of that tax to fund Mass Transit! What the heck does gasoline tax have to do with Mass Transit? So what classifies as mass transit? buses yes, and trains which are known to be major money pits, so we pay for trains yet trains don’t even use roads, and cars don’t use bike paths, got the idea yet? And I’m afraid that a tax set aside for building bicycle infrastructure will get diverted towards something that may leave us scratching our heads as to how that something applies to bicycles.

The tax is misguided. LICENSE? Is it is time we consider licensing or certifying road cyclists and provide some modicum of training and a knowledge base to the basic road cyclist? How much space is a cyclist actually entitled and allowed to use? Is riding tandem OK? And the large groups, how should they operate on the road? What about using sidewalks when there is heavy vehicular traffic and pedestrians walking? Or passing a long line of cars stopped for the light and getting out in front? What rights and restrictions does a bike lane give us? Lights always? And of course cutting off cars, crossing on a red (because I can)….
If we really want to be considered on par with a motorized vehicle should we not be licensed to operate on the road like a vehicle driver is licensed?

All I know is I live in California. I bought a bike last year for a little under $2000, so the tax was over $150 – since there’s no sales tax in Oregon, I paid 10 times more than this meager Oregon tax. My brother lives in Oregon, and the last time I visited him I rode there, and was blown away by the respect I got from *every* driver on the road. And that’s the first place I saw a ‘green lane’. I feel strongly that whatever Oregon is doing is working.